As you know small is the new big! To that end, we’re excited to celebrate 50 years of National Small Business Week here in the United States this week. Did you know that small businesses account for 99.7 percent of firms in the United States? Interestingly enough, 80 percent of those firms are one-person businesses.
While technology has created a global marketplace for small businesses, “knowing your customer” and learning solid financial management skills remain essential for your small business to grow and survive.
Join our Twitter Chat Brought to you By MasterCard
So, join me (@YFSEricaNicole), Ed Glassman the Group Executive of Global Commercial Products at MasterCard Worldwide (@MasterCardNews) and Retail Consultant Bob Phibbs (@TheRetailDoctor) for a smart #smallbiz conversation. We will explore how you can work smarter in order to keep an edge in today’s challenging economic environment and in the face of a brave new “technology-driven” world.
Twitter Chat Details
- Date: June 20, 2013
- Time: 12p – 1p EST
- Location: Twitter
- Hashtag: #SBizChat
The Twitter chat will take place Thursday, June 20th from 12p to 1p EST. I will moderate and weigh-in on the discussion with @MasterCardNews and @TheRetailDoctor. To join our Twitter conversation, use the unique hashtag #SBizChat. This hashtag will allow you to follow the discussion and participate. Or you can click the button below and participate directly from our dedicated launch page.
Who’s Leading the #SBizChat?
@YFSEricaNicole
Erica Nicole is an accomplished serial entrepreneur and the Founder and CEO of YFS Magazine, an internationally acclaimed and award-winning small business news site – the definitive digital magazine for startup, small business news and entrepreneurial culture.
She serves as a judge for Start-up Chile, one of the world’s most prestigious global accelerator programs and was selected as an esteemed judge for the 2013 Microsoft Imagine Cup— the world’s premier student technology competition. She is a member of the Young Entrepreneur Council and National Association of Professional Women, a VISA Business Network and Huffington Post contributor, and former Business Insider contributor.
Prior to her entrepreneurial endeavors she helped industry giants including Mercedes-Benz, Procter & Gamble, and Dell forge innovative pathways in international media and marketing. Her insatiable quest for excellence, creativity and accountability kept her at the forefront of strategic planning for Fortune 500 clients; overseeing budgets in excess of $25 million.
As an entrepreneurial change-agent, Erica Nicole been featured in national media outlets including Forbes.com, UpStart, Fox Business, MSN Business on Main, The Huffington Post, Black Enterprise, American Express OPEN Forum, Business Insider, AllBusiness.com, Mashable, AOL.com, Examiner.com and many more. Learn more[/acc]
@MasterCardNews
Ed Glassman is group executive, Global Commercial Products at MasterCard Worldwide. In this role, he leads the global development and commercialization of the MasterCard innovative commercial products and solutions that serve small business, mid- and large market organizations and public sector institutions.
Mr. Glassman has held senior management positions in Commercial Banking at Citibank, ABN AMRO and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). His responsibilities have included both business and technology areas including global development and delivery of Treasury Products and Services for clients around the world.
Previously, he served as chief information officer for the GTS businesses at RBS and ABN AMRO. At ABN AMRO, he led the global product organization in its stellar growth, helping the company to become one of the pre-eminent GTS banks in the world. Prior to ABN AMRO, Mr. Glassman led the Commercial Cards platform at Citibank, later heading Global Product Development for GTS — including the development and deployment of CitiDirect across the world. This market-leading commercial e-banking solution delivered both traditional and new GTS products and services to customers in every geography.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Glassman spent 12 years at IBM consulting on new and emerging technologies and their effect on business strategies and operations. In addition, he also worked in corporate roles at IBM and Pfizer. Mr. Glassman holds a BS and MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). Learn more
@TheRetailDoctor
In 1994, Bob started his own consulting company, The Retail Doctor, with a mission to provide training and inspiration to small and medium sized independent businesses — and teach them how to successfully compete in today’s retail environment. As a member of the National Speaker’s Association (NSA), Phibbs regularly addresses business organizations, corporations, and business conferences.
Bob’s aggressive, comprehensive ideas and best practices has proved successful in helping firms of all types and sizes. Bob’s passion and enthusiasm are hallmarks of his presentation skills. He has consulted for, and given presentations, to some of the country’s best-known retail brands, including Brother, Caswell-Massey, Hunter Douglas, LEGO, Lumber Liquidators, OMEGA, Yamaha, and Vera Bradley.
One of Phibbs’ most publicized successes was his association with an independent coffee house where sales had slipped for years after Starbucks opened ten blocks away. When a second Starbucks opened just seventy-five feet from the store, the Retail Doctor® arrived to overhaul the operation. Sales rose a dramatic 50 percent over that record year and an additional 40 percent the following year. From that success, Bob drank up the next big trend helping It’s A Grind Coffee, a startup, first as COO and then as CMO. Along the way, they grew to over 125 franchised locations nationwide, created a lot of buzz as the featured coffeehouse on ShowTime’s Weeds and helped make it the second-fastest growing company in Los Angeles County two years running. He was also a partner in growing the Hunter Douglas elite Gallery dealers program across the US. Learn more.
Are you planning to attend our live Twitter chat? If so, let us know using the tweet button below. We look forward to your smart #smallbiz conversation! Don’t miss it.
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